Clearly there is a theme of obsession here but that’s another story for another time. However, one thing for sure, at no time have I ever become a “girl geek”. I simply have more female friends than I do male friends, and pretty much always have.

By the way, I am very definitely a heterosexual, a man’s man and have no thoughts to any sort of alternate lifestyle.

With all of that association and cumulative working knowledge, it is constantly being made clear to me that I do not understand the object of my attention.

I know baseball very well and play it competitively (not obsessively) whenever I can. I don’t hunt much any more but still really enjoy fishing and probably know as much about the sport as your average angler. When it comes to cars and motorcycles, there aren’t many that I haven’t driven, ridden, owned or do own now. I work on them myself and few of them are a challenge to me. My world of photography began at age ten and now, forty plus years later, I still never leave my house without at least one camera in my hand. And most importantly of all, there’s my little family. It’s pretty much just my daughter and myself but it is the center of all I do each day.

Computer people, on the other hand, know every detail, every in and out, every quirk and intricacy of not only their own current computer, but ALL computers and all associated computer accessories such as hardware, software, spyware and what-so-ever ware that exists.

I just want a computer that comes to life when I turn it on, does only what I ask it to do, and then turns off quietly as I finish my work, without re-loads, alternate program suggestions, pages of available options which I couldn’t care less about or any technical criticisms of my efforts.

Saying “Hello” to a computer person is like the proverbial dance on egg shells. If you so much as mention anything that could even in the slightest way imply that you own, have ever used, touched or looked at any computer within the course of your entire life – then you will be inundated with queries and unsolicited advice about what you have at home, at work, what your kids use, and why you should now follow only their suggestions.

It’s mind boggling to me. Computers are tools; like hammers and saws. They are sometimes a weapon just as a sword or gun. But the bottom line is; they are machines. Just machines and not something to involve one’s entire life and every waking moment in. I can dearly enjoy the relative advantages of one of my cameras over another or one of my firearms or vintage motorcycles over different ones, but that’s where the “passion” ends.

People deserve our passion but rarely get it. Machines – no matter how high tech or fascinating they may be – deserve nothing but our capacity to utilize them in the manner for which they were designed and built.

There is far too much chatter going on today about what’s wrong with everything. Negative mud slinging and hyper critical attitudes fly on whatever topic comes up in daily conversation. I often wonder what the point of all of this is. Is it because people are simply too frustrated to do anything but complain? Maybe so, but I hope that one day we can collectively put all of this energy into affecting some positive change rather than just hacking away at everything without the slightest intent of doing anything about it all.

So why not grab a cup of coffee (or whatever you may choose to sit and relax with) and contemplate the issues that effect you each day, then share your concerns here while trying to come up with constructive alternatives to whatever has you up in arms.

Keep things clean, keep them as constructive as possible and let’s see what we can all do together.